The average cost of a sales call has declined approximately 15% over the past decade, while average salesperson compensation has doubled. These statistics illustrate an important benefit of technology: salespeople are more productive. To better understand the impact technology has played on sales and sales management, this paper examines the impact of sales technology from four perspectives: the salesperson, the field sales manager, the sales executive, and the customer. Noting that the needs and evaluations of technology vary, depending upon the functional position and viewpoint, a research agenda is offered that reflects these various perspectives.

In this study, we examined the role that materialism plays in the family structure–stress relation in a sample of adolescents. Materialism is a complex construct that appears to both mediate and moderate the family structure–stress relation as well as have both positive and negative effects. The happiness dimension of materialism in particular appears to both mediate and moderate the family structure–stress relation. Adolescents who associate happiness with material possessions report higher levels of family stress due to family disruption (parental divorce) compared with those who are less likely to associate happiness with material possessions. This finding runs contrary to recent marketing research. Additionally, we found the success dimension of materialism to have a direct and salubrious impact on family stress levels.

This study examines the psychological response-to the threat of radon gas. This study contributes new information to the theoretical literature pertaining to fear appeals in general and the. threat to children from radon gas in particular. The presence or absence of children living in the home resulted in opposite effects of alternative levels of threat. Those with children, in the home were more motivated to call for information simply as the result of adding a vivid "x-ray sizzle effect" to an otherwise identical video stimulus' When the effect is not in the ad, people without children in the house were more motivated to call. Theoretical insights as to why this occurred are offered. The results also suggest arousal, attitude toward the ad, propensity toward avoidance of maladaptive behaviors, and perceived future likelihood of. radon exposure also impact intent to call for more information on the radon threat. (C) 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Roberts and Tanner in 2000 reported that compulsive buying among 896 adolescents was associated with cigarette smoking, alcohol use, drug use, and the likelihood of engaging in premarital sex. The present study concerned the relations of compulsive buying to sexual attitudes, intentions, and activity among adolescents. Results are consistent with the earlier findings as compulsive buying was significantly but weakly correlated (–.14) with intentions to engage in premarital sex; however, compulsive buying was not correlated with adolescents' attitudes regarding sex or sexual behavior.

This response to “Selling in the New Millennium” extends the ideas presented by Ingram, LaForge, and Leigh, in particular, suggesting a pivotal change from the salesperson to the sales function as the unit of study. Such a change makes many traditional research and review practices obsolete. For example, the author argues a need to accept lower response rates and smaller samples along with more formal and new methods to explore generalizability. Other examples, including a review of an article by Jap [J Pers Selling Sales Manage XXI (2001) 95.] and a discussion on the role of trade and professional associations, suggest additional changes that will be needed to increase the likelihood of achieving the joint agenda.

Recent research indicates that trade shows are a place to find prospects and close sales. Yet, many requisites of success found in prior studies may not be available to companies with limited resources. A study that compares the activities of successful vs. unsuccessful exhibitors from small companies was conducted. Results indicate similar budgets, yet very different results. Factors influencing success include strategic factors such as centering responsibility in one position, as well as tactical decisions such as those regarding pre-show promotion.

Using a scale designed to measure compulsive buying of adolescents, a survey was conducted to assess the relationships of compulsive buying with several risky behaviors among 111 adolescents between the ages of 12 to 19 years. The correlations suggest that self-report measures of cigarette smoking, alcohol use, drug use, and likelihood of engaging in premarital sex were all significantly associated (rs = .30 to .32) with compulsive buying among teenagers. Implications of the results are discussed, and directions for research are offered.

Industrial customer satisfaction is usually considered to be based upon the product's performance relative to expectations for those who participated in the purchase. Managers are concerned about customer satisfaction because of its expected effects on future purchases and word-of-mouth. This article presents the results of a study of customer satisfaction with both the product and the process by which it was chosen. Findings indicate that traditional perspectives concerning the effects of product satisfaction should be reconsidered. Implications for marketing managers include matching the selling process to the buying process in order to manage process satisfaction, a factor found to be related to future purchase participation.

Reengineering is being undertaken by numerous firms to better satisfy their customers. In fact, in many situations customers now define the role of the sales force. This article discusses the theory of constraints as a method of analyzing process flows and reducing bottlenecks. Moore business forms serves as a case analysis for better understanding the role of the reengineered sales force. One of Moore's customers is also investigated to demonstrate reeningeering from a dyadic perspective.

Trade shows are an important part of the industrial marketing mix. For over 25 years, industrial marketers were encouraged to exhibit in trade shows for many reasons. This article presents the results and implications of a study of contract manufacturers' objectives for exhibiting in trade shows. The findings indicate that stated objectives appear to have little influence on booth staffing and other show management practices.

This study examines the roles played by sales managers and sales trainers in the sales training process. Findings confirm that joint participation by sales managers and trainers in sales training is higher today than in the past, yet several problem areas still exist. Sales trainers claimed to be primarily responsible for sales training in large companies, but did not seek inputs from field sales managers when planning, conducting, and evaluating training programs. In smaller firms, sales managers are almost totally responsible for sales training. However, they conduct little evaluation and follow-up activities. The implications of these findings are discussed, and suggestions for managerial actions are provided.

Two types of knowledge were incorporated into the ordered protection motivation (OPM) model of threat and coping appraisal. Experiential AIDS prevention knowledge was observed to directly increase maladaptive or unsafe sex behaviors. General AIDS problem knowledge was observed to indirectly increase adaptive safe sex behaviors via certain OPM model mediators. Certain OPM mediators such as self-efficacy and vulnerability were observed to directly increase adaptive safe sex behaviors. Vulnerability was shown to directly increase maladaptive sex-related behaviors.

Marketing researchers have questioned the use of the fear appeal, believing it to be too difficult to implement properly. AIDS, drug abuse, and other social problems have caused practitioners to return to the fear appeal, but with little direction from marketing theory. The protection motivation paradigm offers a prescriptive model to improve the effectiveness of the fear appeal. The authors propose and empirically test several changes to the PM model. Results indicate that fear appeals should present certain material in a specified order and attack maladaptive behaviors.

Protection motivation (PM) theory concerns how individuals process threats and select responses to cope with the danger brought about by those threats. Fear appeals, one type of communication involving a threat, have been studied in marketing. But PM theory suggests adding coping response information to fear appeals, which effectively influences adoption of appropriate coping behaviors. This article reports the results of tests of several aspects of PM theory in a marketing context. The results indicate that traditional threat-oriented fear appeals are less effective than appeals that also contain information concerning the coping response.